1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a container for co-packaging at least two items, in at least two integral compartments, and in which a second compartment rotates from a first position for scooping to a second position for holding at least one item.
2. Discussion of the Background
At fast food restaurants and at take-out counters, french fries are often sold in paperboard containers. Many people like to apply ketchup to french fries. If it is applied directly to the fries in the container, they tend to become soggy. When people reach into the container, they are quite likely to cover their fingers with the ketchup. Alternatively, one can obtain a small separate container of ketchup, into which a french fry may be dipped immediately before it is eaten. But this has the disadvantage of requiring two separate containers. If one is not sitting in a restaurant, one must use one hand to hold the french fry container and one hand to hold the condiment container, making it difficult to eat the french fries. If one is eating the french fries in a car while driving, it is difficult to avoid soiling one's clothes with ketchup when moving the french fries from the condiment container to the mouth.
A similar problem exists with other types of food to which a condiment is preferably applied before eating, such as salads and dressings or vegetables or chips and dips.
Prior containers have attempted to solve this problem by providing containers having integral smaller containers. However, these containers have some disadvantages. For example, the container shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,930 has four bottom panels, which are intricately die cut and scored, so as to interlock when the carton is formed. The intricate die cutting adds substantially to the cost of manufacturing the carton. Also, the relative complexity of the four interlocking bottom panels make it subject to malfunction. Furthermore, the bottom formed by the four interlocking panels is not entirely flat and is relatively small in diameter. This makes it rather tippy and unable to be securely placed on a surface rather than being held at all times. Similar disadvantages accrue to the containers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,705,514, 6,471,119, and 5,875,957.
Another disadvantage of the prior containers is that when the smaller integral container is affixed on the rear panel of the container, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,102,208, 6,119,930, 6,471,119, and 6,705,514, the container cannot easily be used to scoop the food item of interest into the container, as the movement of the food item into the container during scooping tends to pull open the smaller integral container.
The container shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,283 avoids the latter problem by placing the smaller container on the front of the container. However, in this container the smaller container is defined by an elaborate extension and modification of the blank, with access to the smaller container requiring severance along a perforated cut line. Another container shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,957 also provides a smaller container on the front panel of the container. However, this smaller container is formed from a separate sheet of material that is affixed by adhesive to the blank forming the container. This is an extra step in manufacturing that leads to increased expense and time in the manufacturing process. It also leads to the greater possibility of the smaller container to become unattached from the larger container should the adhesive fail to hold.
A container having a smaller integral container on the inside of a side panel is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,429. In this container, the smaller integral container is limited in size by the size of the side panel. Only a small amount of a condiment can be placed into the smaller container. In addition, since the side container opens toward the inside of the container, it also has the tendency to open during the food-scooping process.
Another disadvantage of prior smaller integral containers is that they have a tendency to collapse unless immediately filled with a condiment, and they also collapse as the condiment is removed. This makes it more difficult to obtain access to the remaining condiment.